In the current globalised economy, many organisations in the UK are taking initiatives to attract and employ global talents. To legally and efficiently hire foreign talents, businesses operating in the UK need a sponsor licence. This licence not only legitimises the employment status of non-native workers in the UK but also helps the organisation demonstrate its commitment to adhering to immigration laws and regulations formulated by the UK Home Office.
On the other hand, a successful sponsor licence application involves more than just submitting paperwork. It requires a deep understanding of the sponsor licence key personnel roles involved in the process. The individuals fulfilling these sponsor licence key personnel roles ensure their organisation complies with all applicable laws, including the UK immigration rules and regulations.
These sponsor licence key personnel roles are designated within the organisation to handle responsibilities related to sponsor licence regulations and maintain effective communication with the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). From the Authorising Officer to the level 1 user, each role has specific duties and responsibilities that contribute to the success of the sponsor licence application. Understanding these sponsor licence key personel roles and their significance is crucial for businesses aiming to navigate the sponsor licence application successfully and manage their sponsorship duties effectively.
Sponsor Licence: A Quick Overview
A sponsor licence is an official authorisation granted by the UK Home Office to organisations legally operating in the UK, allowing them to hire foreign skilled workers. This licence is vital for UK businesses seeking to recruit international talent, especially in sectors experiencing skill shortages. It serves as a conduit between UK companies and skilled foreign workers, ensuring compliance with UK immigration law.
The advantage of the UK sponsor licence is that it encourages organisations to proceed with their application. These advantages include:
- Providing organisations with access to global talents from outside the UK, improving the diversity and expertise of their workforce.
- Enhancing the firm’s reputation through adherence to UK immigration regulations.
- Allowing companies with UK sponsor licences to recruit skilled professionals for critical roles, driving innovations, and maintaining a competitive edge in their respective markets.
Additionally, the organisation must appoint individuals to successfully manage the sponsor licence application. These individuals are the sponsor licence key personnel who are responsible for handling sponsor licence applications.
Key Personnel of UK Sponsor Licence
When applying for a sponsor licence, assigning specific key roles to individuals within the organisation is crucial to managing the process successfully. These individuals are called the “sponsor licence key personnel” of the UK sponsor licence. These sponsor licence key personnel roles are fundamental for effectively managing sponsor licence duties, facilitating the employment of foreign skilled labourers, and ensuring compliance with UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. The sponsor licence key personnel roles include the Authorising Officer, Key Contact, Level 1 user, and Level 2 user (which is optional).
Authorising Officer (AO)
The Authorising Officer plays a crucial role among the sponsor licence key personnel in the application process. This individual is a senior officer within the organisation, responsible for overseeing the recruitment of migrant workers and ensuring compliance with UK immigration rules and regulations. The Authorising Officer must be the most senior person in your organisation responsible for the recruitment or responsible for the employer’s activity as a licensed sponsor. The Authorising Officer must be a paid staff member or officeholder based in the UK.
The primary responsibilities of the Authorising officer include ensuring the organisation adheres to all the sponsorship duties and UK immigration laws. This involves monitoring migrant workers, maintaining accurate records, reporting relevant changes, and so forth. Additionally, this person is the main point of contact for UKVI regarding any sponsor licence compliance audits.
Furthermore, the Authorising Officer oversees the activities of each user within the Sponsorship Management System (SMS), the Home Office portal that allows authorised users to manage day-to-day activities, including assigning CoS to foreign skilled workers. The UK Home Office recommends that the Authorising Officer reviews the CoS assigned to workers at least once a month.
When evaluating the sponsor licence application of an organisation, the UKVI will investigate the background and suitability of both the sponsor and the sponsor licence key personnel assigned to manage the process. To be deemed suitable, the Authorising Officer must have no criminal convictions or history of non-compliance with UKVI requirements associated with the UK sponsor licence. Additionally, the Authority Officer must not have:
- Been found guilty of any previous violations related to immigration
- Been a sponsor licence key personnel for an organisation whose sponsor licence revoked in the last 12 months
- Been fined by the UKVI in the last 12 months
- Been reported to the UKVI for non-compliance
- Been declared bankrupt or subject to a debt relief restriction order
- Failed to pay VAT or other imposed taxes.
- Subject to a cooling off period due to a previous licence rejection
Key Contact
The key contact serves as the main point of contact with UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) for the UK sponsor licence. The UKVI will contact the individual handling the role of key contact and may make any queries about the sponsor licence, submitted documents, or the payment. The key contact will receive notifications from UKVI, including updates on the sponsor licence application, compliance visits, and any changes in the licence.
Sometimes, the Home Office may raise concerns regarding the applicant’s sponsor licence application. In this scenario, the UKVI will conduct a pre-licence compliance visit to the organisation. Additionally, there is a chance that the home office may conduct an immigration audit of the firm after it is granted a UK sponsor licence. The key contact and the Authorising officer play significant roles in both cases.
In many cases, an individual might hold the dual responsibilities of both key contact and the authorising officer. In such cases, the authoring office will oversee the UK sponsor licence and ensure that the organisation complies with the UK immigration rules and regulations formulated by the Home Office. However, the sponsor can appoint a legal representative like City Legal Solicitors to handle the sponsor licence application.
The Key Contact acts as the bridge between UKVI and the organisation but does not have automatic access to the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). If the sponsor wants to provide SMS access to the Key Contact, the person needs to be set up as a Level 1 or Level 2 user.
The responsibilities of the Key Contact include:
- Maintain communication with the Home Office.
- Providing timely updates to the Home Office regarding the changes within the organisation that may affect the status of the sponsor licence
- Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of the sponsor workers
- Ensuring that the organisation complies with UK immigration rules and regulations.
Mostly, the human resource manager, immigration specialist/solicitor, or compliance officer is assigned as the key contact for the sponsor licence application. In small organisations, this role may be undertaken by the directors themselves along with the role of Authorising Officer.
Level 1 User
Level 1 users assigned to handle sponsor licence applications manage the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). This portal from UKVI contains information about the organisation’s licence. To meet the sponsor duties under the sponsor licence, the organisation applying for the sponsor licence application must have at least one level 1 user throughout the duration of the licence.
The level 1 user appointed by the organisation during the sponsor licence application must be a paid employee, a director or a partner within your organisation. You must have at least one level 1 user who meets this definition and is a British citizen or settled in the UK. After the licence is granted by UKVI, the existing Level 1 user can appoint additional Level 1 users in the SMS.
The Level 1 user must be assigned to manage the sponsor licence application and must not have any criminal convictions or civil penalties. Before granting access to the SMS, the Home Office examines the background of the Level 1 user, including immigration records and the Police National Computer (PNC) database. The Home Office may repeatedly check the background of the Level 1 user at any time throughout the life period of the sponsor licence.
The responsibilities of Level 1 user include:
- Handling information about the licence and the sponsor licence key personnel
- Assigning CoS to foreign skilled workers
- Requesting an increase in the number of CoS allocations
- Cancelling or withdrawing CoS
- Adding multiple Level 1 and Level 2 users to the SMS or removing the existing users
- Updating the details of the users
- Reporting changes in the organisation to UKVI, including the circumstances of the sponsored workers employed by the organisation.
- Reporting the activity of the sponsored workers
Level 2 User (Optional)
A Level 2 user is an optional role assigned to an individual within an organisation to assist the level 1 user. This role mainly benefits organisations with many sponsored employees that require additional administrative support. In addition, this role helps continue processes on behalf of the Level 1 user during their absence.
The responsibilities of the Level 2 user include:
- Assisting the Level 1 user in managing the Sponsorship Management System (SMS)
- Perform routine tasks related to the sponsored workers
- Updating certain information about the sponsored workers, including their contact details, job roles, etc.
- Ensure data accuracy
- Making sure that the organisation complies with the requirements of UK immigration rules and regulations.
However, unlike Level 1 users, Level 2 users have limited access to SMS They can only create and assign CoS to workers, and report worker activity to us relating to CoS they have personally created and assigned, or which have been transferred to them by a Level 1 user. However, the Level 2 users provide flexibility and additional support to the Level 1 user, which includes:
- By delegating routine administrative activities to Level 2 users, the Level 1 user gains sufficient time to focus on strategic sponsor licence compliance and management issues.
- Ensuring that sponsor licence responsibilities are adequately covered, especially during heavy workloads or when Level 1 users are unavailable or on leave.
- Reducing the occurrence of errors in the sponsorship process by sharing responsibilities with multiple individuals.
A Level 2 User must be one of the following:
- a paid staff member or office holder within your organisation
- an employee of an organisation engaged by you to deliver all or part of
- your human resources function
- a temporary staff member supplied to you by an employment business
- a UK-based representative
Criteria for Selecting sponsor licence key personnel
During the selection process of sponsor licence key personnel for the sponsor licence application, individual must meet specific criteria, including:
- Ensuring that the individuals finalised for the sponsor licence key personnel roles have a thorough understanding of the UKVI requirements for the UK sponsor licence process and UK immigration rules.
- Selecting individuals for the sponsor licence key personnel, who are familiar with regulatory frameworks and processes.
- Ensuring the selected individuals do not have a criminal conviction background.
- Possessing strong communication skills
- Demonstrating solid organisational skills necessary for managing documentation and ensuring timely responses and updates.
- Since they are assigned to manage the Sponsorship Management System (SMS), the individual selected for sponsor licence key personnel roles, especially Level 1 users, should ideally possess the necessary technical knowledge to operate the online portal.
In addition, trustworthiness, reliability and competence are essential qualities for the sponsor licence key personnel roles. This is because handling sensitive information requires trust, while reliability ensures that the individuals choosen for sponsor licence key personnel can maintain sponsor licence compliance. Competence is necessary to avoid errors that could lead to repercussions for the business. Assigning sponsor licence key personnel roles to inappropriate individuals might create negative impact such as increase compliance risks that lead to penalties and revocation of the sponsor licence.
Poor management can cause operational disruption, leading to delays in the recruitment process and affecting the efficiency of an organisation. Furthermore, failure to comply with the Immigration rules and regulations can damage the organisation’s reputation, negatively impacting business relations and future sponsorship opportunities. This scenario might have financial implications for the organisation, such as fines and legal costs. Thus, it is crucial to select the right individuals to handle the role of sponsor licence key personnel for sponsor licence applications.
Wrapping Up
The Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and Level 1 user are the sponsor licence key personnels associated with the sponsor licence application. In addition to these sponsor licence key personnel roles, there is an optional role designated as a Level 2 user, who is appointed to assist the Level 1 user in this process. These roles ensure that the organisation complies with UK immigration law and the regulations set by the Home Office, facilitating the employment of foreign skilled workers.
As it has direct impact on the organisation’s ability to maintain the status of the UK sponsor licence and attract global talents, it is crucial to select the right individuals for these positions. Thus, the organisation must choose trustworthy and competent candidates to manage the sponsor licence application responsibilities and duties, ensuring smooth and successful sponsorship operations.
Are you planning to apply for a UK sponsor licence? Looking for the assistance of the most reliable sponsor licence solicitors? Then, we are happy to help you. City Legal Solicitors has a team of experienced sponsor license lawyers ready to assist you in successfully obtaining a UK sponsor licence. Want to reach out to us? Contact us today @ 020 8175 4000 or email us at enquiries@citylegalsolicitors.co.uk for more information.
